Football kicking trainer



Filed June 16, 1941 f Md Patented Apr. 20, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOOTBALL KICKING TRAINER Fred P. Silva, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application June 16, 1941, Serial No. 398,220

Claims.

In the game of golf the player takes his stance with two feet squarely on the ground and the matter of balance is easy compared to the skill which a football player must exercise in any of several plays in which the football must be powerfully motivated and at the same time well directed by stroke of one foot whilst the player has a moving or still stance on the other foot. The golfer uses two feet to keep his balance but the football player, with his whole body tensed, can use but one foot to stay himself against loss of balance.

The player, hereinafter used as meaning a football player, is under three very decided mental hazards when he is kicking: he must move up and plant his foot (generally the left foot) solidly with perfect freedom from mental strain of keeping his balance; he must plant his left foot at some particular spot which is, to himself, the best; for then swinging his right foot to contact the ball; and he must complete a correct leg and foot swing to motivate the ball. All of this necessitates perfect coordination of many muscles to get his (left) footing at the right spot, to keep his balance for a second on the planted foot and then to maintain balance while on one foot and combine with these strains'the application of effort of ball kicking with one swinging leg.

To attain fair perfection of kicking plays the player must have learned to (1) plant his left foot, (2) to get his stance balance on theplanted not have his election as to the period of time to complete his negotiations for in a fraction of a second his whole preparations may be exploded by a tackle or a block. Therefore it behooves every player to practice up on his kicking plays.

Every season a great many games of football are lost or tied because a goal kick went astray.

The present invention is, therefore, an apparatus for the practice training of football players to perfect the performance of kicking plays and to so thoroughly develop his subconscious control and coordination that kicking plays may be made as reliably as hand-function plays.

A cardinal purpose of the invention is to provide a mechanical trainer which is totally free of restrictive ccntraptions as far as reasonably possible. Any form of restrictive devices at once create a heavy burden on the players mind because a restriction of barrier form at once engenders a hazard in front of the player. And

even more importantly, any player who practices with a restrictive device must at once go wild in a real game play for the reason that he is liberated from hamper of his practice barrier and he feels all the more mental duress when trying to make his field play without his crutches, that is, the impediments used in practice.

It is a purpose of this invention to provide a trainer which enables practice kicking under field conditions just as simulative of game conditions as practical so that when the practiced player at last comes into a game he has exactly the same reactions in making a kick that he has sensed in his practice plays. The consequence is that he, having no new emotions to counteract, proceeds to stance, balance and kick cocrdination just as though he was at practice.

It is of the most importance that the kicking leg and foot be entirely unhampered-kept out of a groove, as it Were-while practicing, and indeed the same freedom is desirable of the stance leg, be it right or left.

An object of this invention is to provide but two spots for the attention of the player and to eliminate all unnecessary equipment as the same may put but an additional burden on the player's attention and some undesired restriction on his limb motion. It is a particular object to provide a reliable means to safely support a placed ball, on the ground, at the conventional axis angle so that regardless of the reasonable range between the stance foot and the ball place or rack, as it will here be called, the ball will always be reliably in ready position for a kick. Obviously any deviation in the repose angle of a placed ball could but confuse the practicing player.

It is an object of the invention to provide a trainer which imposes the minimum vertical wall face or barrier so as to eliminate to the greatest degree a fearsome barrier which would detrimentally distract the players one aim of impinging a good, direct kick on the ball, or, briefly, an object is to provide a trackless, wall-less, nonconfining trainer for the game player here concerned.

Also, an object is to provide a simple, low-cost, practical, compact, light weight, unharnessing, right and left reversible, substantial, and capacitatively adjustable, and easily set up and knock-- down trainer for players. An object is to provide a trainer of really portable nature and which can be safely packed up and placed in a players room locker.

The invention consists in certain advancements in this art as set forth in the ensuing disclosure and having, with the above, additional objects and advantages as hereinafter developed, and whose constructions, combinations and sub-combinations, and the details of means, and the'methcd, and the manner of its operation will be made manifest in the description of the herewith illustrative embodiment; it being understood that modifications, variations and adaptations may be resorted to within the spirit, scope and principle of the invention as it is more particularly claimed presently.

The drawing is a perspective of the trainer as set up for use.

The trainer involves two principal parts. One is a flat, horse-shoe shaped target or spotter 2, of any suitable firm material, and the other is a ball rack l6 which is isolate or wholly separate from the structure elements of the spotter 2, but is adjustably attached thereto.

When the spotter is pinned by its spikes 3 to the turf the player, or his coach, or instructor, will, after the players test foot-swings, set up the rack Hi and impale its spikes II in the turf according to the position shown best by test for that individual player. It is desirable that each player have his own trainer, they are inexpensive, so that frequent adjustment of a single apparatus to accommodate tall or short, or thin or big men may be avoided.

The rack includes a ground bar with fixed, upstanding prongs l2 preferably of flexible but unbreakable nature (rubber or helical springs being sufiicient) so that the kickers mind is Wholly at ease when kicking at a ball leaned against the far side of the parallel prongs l2 which need be but half or so the length of the conventional foot-ball.

Means are provided to adjustably connect the rack IE to the spotter 2 and a form of connection includes a rod l3, of the rack bar ill, pivotally and slidably (on its own axis) connected to one end of a substantial radius link l4 mounted on one end of a gage bar I5 which is pivoted and slidable on a block [6 having a set-screw l! to fix the bar at the desired position to hold the rack It of the spiked spotter 2. The block it has a king-pin l8 turning on a vertical axis in the outer end of a reach arm H) which is slidable in a box 28 of which two are fixed on the side shanks of the U-shaped spotter structure. The arm l 9 is insertable endwise into either box 23 for used the trainer by either a right-footer or a left-footer (player) and the structure making up the rack assembly is set up on either the right or the left side of the spotter 2, accordingly. A

set-screw 2! in the box will hold the reach arm It will be apparent that a player can run or walk up and plant his stance foot in the turf space between the shanks of the spotter 2 with all freedom from either counter-emotions on his mind either because of obstacle elimination at or near the foot space (the spotter frame being quite thin but wide enough in shank face to be a fair target in his eyes at practice), and with all freedom for any natural motion of his stance foot until it is properly laid on the turf spot exposed in the spotter 2. Under such utter freedom the player will practice up to his best ability in planting his stance foot and getting his poise or balance on the planted foot and can carry this perfection with him into game plays because the only thing he will miss, consciously, will be the small, visual target made by the set spotter in practice work. Having learned his coordination of foot planting and poise of body on the planted foot, if the ball is in his most favorable aspect on the rack of the trainer then his next function is to change his balance and swing his kicking leg and foot with all his might. All his sub-conscious faculty comes into work to keep his poise and make the kick because he has, by this instrument, been tuned up to synchronize every muscle in his body without the least use of his mind to that endhis ultimate object is now, on a fraction of a second, to engage the ball at the right place with full dynamic concentration.

Thus a player brought up under the influence of this trainer has but two thoughts to worry with; to put his stance foot down on the right spot as it has to do with the placed ball, and then to correctly contact the ball. He negotiates all his approach to the ball wholly oblivious to any other element or factor of obstruction or re striction. Put him into play in a game on a field and he is at once at home (to make a kick) as if be had his trainer: it has never been a harness on him, nor kept him in harness as to any natural play of his legs in coming up to the small foot space in the spotter and finishing off the kick. He has learned that if the ball has been set he has but to plant his stance foot in his learned position and then to swing the kicking foot against the ball. In a game the absence of the trainer does not disconcert the learned player because in its use he enjoyed full free leg motion that he must take on a field of This trainer teaches the player great immanent coordination for physical balance during the whole play kick and at the same time inculcates reliant efficiency in the transitive function of motivating the ball. In the trainer the approach of the stance foot and of the kicking foot to the stance spot and to the presented ball are both as entirely free as in an actual game play and it is the eradication of hazard f' l ill practice that generates a wholesome confidence under stress of game tension.

What is claimed is:

l. A football kicking trainer including a holder whereby to retain a placed ball in the usual kick receiving position, a stance foot guide consisting of a fiat toe line bar having rearwardly extending side shanks spaced to form a foot sole spot rear of the said bar, and a forwardly extending rod mounted for axial adjustment on and as to the desired shank, and a means for laterally adjusting the holder as to the said rod.

2. The trainer of claim 1; the holder being wholly forward of the guide parts.

3. A football kicking holder and trainer eluding a holder whereby to retain a pl ced ball in the usual kick receiving position, a foot guide having a stance-foot placing spot, and a rhea for adjustably fixing the holder in an isolai position laterally and wholly forward of parts and including a reach rod mounted b... one of the guide portions on one side or" the said 4. The trainer of claim 3; and means on i c said rod for positioning the holder in dlfl'e. -t lateral relations as to the guide.

5. A football holder, a foot spot for .ing having spaced shanks connected by a line bar at the front ends, and means fixably adios able on either shank and reaching forwa of the guide parts and connected to the hol fix it in isolated position laterally and forwar of the guide.

FRED P. SILVA. 

